MANILA — Four former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials and a contractor have been admitted as state witnesses in cases involving alleged anomalous flood control projects, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday, January 15.

At a press briefing, DOJ spokesperson Anthony Fadullon identified the new state witnesses as former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara, former DPWH National Capital Region director Gerard Opulencia, and contractor Sally Santos. They are now covered by the witness protection program.

Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said the four have returned a total of more than P316 million to the government.

“Sila po ang nag-aabalik ng kabuuang P316,381,500,” Vida said. (They are the ones returning the total amount of P316,381,500.)

Vida clarified that being admitted into the witness protection program does not automatically absolve them of all criminal liability. State witnesses are discharged from liability only for cases in which they provide testimony useful to the prosecution.

“Isa po sa mga karapatan ng mga state witnesses na ina-admit po sa programa is to be discharged from criminal liability doon po sa kasong tinutulungan nila kami,” Vida said. (One of the rights of state witnesses admitted into the program is to be discharged from criminal liability in the specific cases where they are assisting us.)

He added that this does not apply to cases involving “ghost projects,” in which contractors are paid for projects that do not exist.

“‘Kasi sa ghost project bayad yung contractor… ’Pag tinignan ’yung project, wala ’yung project. So saan mo pa kakailanganin yung state witness? So kakasuhan mo sila,’” Vida said.
(Because in ghost projects, the contractor is paid, but the project does not exist. So where would you still need a state witness? That is when you file charges against them.)

DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez provided a breakdown of the amounts returned by the state witnesses:

• Henry Alcantara — P181 million
• Gerard Opulencia — P80 million
• Sally Santos — P20 million
• Roberto Bernardo — P35 million

Under Philippine law, a state witness is someone who participated in the commission of a crime and agrees to testify for the government. Admission depends on factors including the seriousness of the offense, the necessity of the testimony, corroboration, and the witness’s relative culpability.